Raising our child
by SakuraIchigoDark
Summary: "Loving you was easy, losing you was hard, but raising our daughter all alone..." Drabbles and oneshots of the couple who were meant for each other... and how their deaths impacted their family. GaLe.
1. Chapter 1

Raising our child  
Loving you was easy, losing you was hard, but raising our daughter all alone...

* * *

Rain cascaded from the grey heavens that day, disguising the tears of her loved ones. "S-she was the best friend -the best nakama- that anyone could wish for." Someone proclaimed through their tears. "Her smile could brighten up the darkest of days, she could even brighten up this day, if only she was alive." The speech could've went on for hours, were it not for the wails of the child that interrupted it. The gentle, uncharacteristic, coos were barley audible over the torrent of rain, but the child's wails subsided none-the-less. "But she's not gone -not really- she'll live on in our hearts and in our lives." They speaker wrapped up their speech and soon all but one person had payed their respects and were on their way to the wake.

Only one person remained by the cold marble slab that marked his wife's resting place. At least it should've. They never found her body. Blood, yes, lots of it, ripped clothes, locks of hair, even a limb, but they never found her whole body. Tears ran down his rugged, pierced face as he commented that the marble slab was so unlike his wife. She was warm, kind, forgiving and a million more things that he couldn't describe, unlike the forbidding marble in front of him. Wordlessly the child in his arms begged for attention. It didn't know what was going on, it didn't know that they were at her mother's funeral, all she wanted was her father's attention. Slowly he turned his attention to his daughter. _Their_ daughter.

Gajeel smiled for the little girl. He would be strong for her, just like her mother was. Slowly he turned away from the gravestone and made his way towards the guild for the wake. It was time to stop mourning and be strong, for his daughter's sake.

_R.I.P_

_~Levy Redfox/Mcgarden~_  
_The words she loved, cannot describe her brilliance._

The words etched into his wife's grave would forever haunt him, but it was time to stop mourning her death, and start celebrating her life. It was time to raise their daughter.


	2. Picture

Picture

There were many things that Gajeel was looking forward to once he had started a family with Levy, one of which were pictures. He and Levy would laugh as they'd tell stories of what pictures they'd hang up on the wall when their little girl was born; her first birthday, their first family outing, her first day at school, everything. They were going to have so many happy memories. He looked longingly at the one family photo in his hand. It was the day Levy gave birth to their daughter. He smiled fondly at the memory.

Sweat plastered cerulean locks to her forehead and her breaths came out deep and heaving, but she her smile never wavered as she gently cradled her new bundle of joy in her arms. The little girl had seised her crying when her mother whispered into her little ear. In that moment he had wrapped his arms around his two girls and gave one of his rare, soft, caring smiles, and it was that moment that bunny girl had snapped the picture. Everyone was convinced that perfect moment was going to be one of many.

Suddenly Gajeel couldn't bear to look at the picture any longer. He pulled open the nearest drawer and shoved the picture in it. He wouldn't cry, he wouldn't. He was going to be strong for his daughter, but not as strong as her mother because he simply couldn't.

* * *

It wasn't until almost a year later when he found that picture again. He had been looking for candles with his daughter when he found it. This time, however, he didn't feel sadness that there wouldn't be any memories without his shorty. Instead he smiled at the irony. Many a time had he searched for this picture, but he had only found it when he wasn't looking for it. Although he could've sworn he checked that drawer, he was happy he had ever found it before, he would've probably destroyed it.

A small whine shifted his attention to the child sitting in his arm. He swung her off of his shoulder and kissed her forehead before putting her back and placing the picture on the wall. "That's your mother." He whispered as she stared at the beautiful woman on the wall.

The moment didn't last long, as two familiar and annoying voices interrupted it. With a sigh Gajeel snatched up what he was originally sent to find and made his way to the owners of the voices. "And she's the reason tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum are yer uncles."

* * *

**I have decide that this shall almost be in two parts; Gajeel getting over the loss of Levy and him raising his daughter (who's name shall be revealed next chapter)**


	3. Little one

Little one

She was such a little thing. So small and precious, it was only fair that her name reflected this. And so Gajeel had decided on 'Bec' It meant 'little one.' Levy even had a book called it in her library room. The very same room Gajeel could never bring himself to clear out.

A stranger would have thought the sight hilarious, a large, daredevil looking made like Gajeel, pushing a miniscule girl on the swings. Braiding the blue locks of a delicate toddler and, one day, escorting her down the white wedding aisle. But that day wasn't for a good many years into the future. For the moment, his little girl was just that; his little girl. His baby Bec, who would forever curse her father for not letting her be tall.

Gajeel would tell her that he never had to worry about her leaving him when she grew up, because she wouldn't grow. Of course the petite girl would huff and puff at the iron dragon's taunting, but she'd always laugh at the jeers about her height. Very few knew the meaning of her name; but her father wouldn't have it any other way. She was his to care for and his to love until her heart was stolen, and until then she was his baby Bec.


	4. Words

Words

Everyone knew Bec was a smart child, she knew where almost everything in the guild was -mostly due to games such as hide and seek- but, most importantly, she knew not to destroy Erza's cake. Yet as smart as she was she had yet to say her first word. Although the little girl was nearing the age that a normal child would start school, Gajeel was reluctant to thrust her into a world full of words that could be used to mock her. Almost every day someone would take little Bec aside and whisper words into her ear. Many people told him not to worry -some great mages didn't talk until they were as old ten- but of course he did. Gajeel tried to appear cool and calm about it, but the truth was, he was terrified, funny, he was almost used to the emotion, being a single father. Being a single father without Levy was terrifying.

Every night he wondered if it was his fault that his child wouldn't utter the words that were special to him. He wondered if his daughter gated him, somehow blamed him for her mother's death and so coolly twisted his mind. They were silly thoughts, but he couldn't shake them. Some nights -although Gajeel would never admit it- he was thankful Bec didn't speak. He would think about futures in which she never spoke, futures in which she never screamed her hate for him and never knew of the dreadful sins he had one committed. And sometimes he didn't hate these futures, but he always hated himself for thinking of them. What kind of father would hope for such a thing? On nights like that he'd hold his daughter and beg for her forgiveness over and over again, and when she was asleep, he'd watch her dream and wish that her every dream came true.

A couple of times he considered the possibility that his little girl was mute. She certainly understood snippets of conversation, could point to the object of a conversation and could ask simple questions with a bird-like tilt of her head or a shrug of her little shoulders.

It was a tuesday when Gajeel came home to find his daughter playing on the floor with Lily. As soon as the dragon slayer had walked through the door he was made to replace his battle partner -who was adorned in hundreds of flowers- as his daughter's play partner.

With only a slight growl of annoyance, Gajeel sat on the floor of his home and allowed his child, you plait his hair. Of course her plaits were as sloppy and messy as his own -not that he had ever plaited anyone's hair before- but she found something fascinating about adorning his hair with beads and flowers. Remembering the advice from the other guild members about encouraging Bec to talk he started asking things out loud and answering them himself when he received no answer.

While lost in thought, the dragon slayer barely registered a hand reach over his shoulder and an equally small voice mumble "Papa, lilies." With a sigh, he passed back a handful of the delicate flowers and submitted to having them woven into his hair. It took Gajeel almost ten whole seconds to realise what had just happened, but when he did, his reaction was instant. He spun round -with no consideration to the plait that Bec had put so much effort into- and grabbed his daughter by her small shoulders. "What did you say!?" He asked, overjoyed by the prospect that he wasn't a bad father, that his child had addressed _him _-Gajeel Redfox- with her first ever words! Slightly confused by her father's outburst, little Bec cocked her head to the side in an almost birdlike manner and replied, with unpractised words. "Cou' no reach lilies." The new words stumbled off of her tongue laced with childhood innocence and love, and she even held up the flowers to emphasize her point. "Papa, wants lilies?" She asked, obviously concentrating on the letter 't'.

"No, I'm happy ya got yer flowers." He said with a broad smile. "You, not ya, don't say ya." He added as a second thought.


End file.
